smith



5. Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

H. F. SMITH. PROCESS OF AND MACHINE FOR MAKING CELL GASES.

, Patented Oct. 31,1893.

(No Model.)

H. P. SMITH.

PROCESS OF AND MACHINE FOR MAKING GELL GASES;

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Oct. 31,1893.

gNo Model.) 5 Sheet-Sheat s.

H. F. SM ITH.- v PROCESS OF AND MAGHINB FOR MAKING CELL GASES.

No. 507,761. Patented 0ot.31,1893.

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ifowa/d Snub/u (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

H. 1". SMITH. PROCESS OF AND MAGHINE FOR MAKING CELL GASES.

No. 507,761. Patented 001;. 31, 1893.-

(No Model.) 5'Sheets-Sheet 5.

H. F. SMITH.

PROCESS OF AND MACHINE FDRMAKING OELLOASES. No. 507,761. Patentedflot. 31,1893.

- bio 61mm,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD F. SMITH, OF ELKHART, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HENRY J. CANNON, OF SAME PLACE.

PROCESS OFAND MACHINE FOR MAKING CELL-CASES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,761, dated October 31, 1893.

Application filed September 28, 1892. Serial No. 447.117. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elkhart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Man ufacture of Cell-Cases; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has reference to the manu facture by machinery of cell cases to be used for packing eggs and other articles for transportation, said cases being constructed of straw board or other suitable material, and consisting of two sets of interlocking strips which intersect each other by the aid of partial cross cuts in the sets, and form compartments to receive the eggs and other articles singly. In machines of this general character heretofore employed, the strips have been prepared, and assembled to form a cell case,

with the strips arranged at right angles to each other, or in an open condition, as when in use; and many difficulties are experienced in the manufacture of cases in this manner, inasmuch as no efiective locking together of the strips, to prevent their separation, has been devised in such machines.

It is the object of my invention to produce a machine which will operate to form a series of slots and incisions in the sheets from which strips are made, and to assemble them to form cases in a partially collapsed or knockdown condition, the construction of the slots and incisions being such as that the strips forming the case may be readily separated when in this collapsed state, and are securely interlocked when the case is opened for use.

To this end my invention consists generally in presenting a series of longitudinal strips and a series of transverse strips, and assembling them to form a cell case in a partially collapsed condition; in mechanism for feeding the series of sheets to form the strips from Webs or rolls; in mechanism for forming slots and incisions in said sheets; in

means for assembling the perforated ends of the sheets in the manner above stated, and in mechanism for severing from the continuous sheets the cell cases when made.

My invention also consists in the construction, relative arrangement and operation of the several parts constituting the machine employed, all of which will be hereinafter fully and clearly' described and specifically claimed.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents in side elevation the machine proper, portions of the sheet feeding mechanism being cut away; Fig. 1 a detail of the means for operating the intermittent feed mechanism; Fig. 2, a top plan view of the machine proper; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the sheet feeding mechanism; Fig. 4, atop plan View thereof; Fig. 5, a rear elevation of one of the guides for separating the ends of the sheets before the assembling operation, in detail; Fig. 6, afront elevation, and Fig. 7 a top plan view thereof; Fig. 8 a vertical central section taken through line w-w, Fig. 6; Fig. 9 an elevation of one of the longitudinal strips; Fig. 10, an elevation of one of the transverse strips; and Fig. 11 is a view of the completed cell case in a collapsed condition as it. comes from the machine.

Like letters of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The reference letter A denotes the frame of the machine upon which are mounted the mechanisms for punching, assembling and severing the sheets. Adjacent to each end of the machine is the mechanism for-feeding the sheets, which consists of a number of rolls B mounted on suitable frames b, and arranged in such a manner as that each roll shall overlap the next adjacent roll in order that the sheets fed therefrom shall overlap, for an object presently to be explained. The sheets as they come from the rolls are passed collectively between feed rollers c c which are mounted on standards 0 0 the rollers'c being rigidly secured in position by set screws 0 passing through sleeves c. on the standards, which support the ends of the roller spindle. The roller 0' has a yielding contact with the roller 0 in order to imparta uniform pressure on thesheets, and is mounted on.

movable sleeves c c on the standard, and depressed by the action of coil-springs c c interposed between said sleeves and collars 0 e on the top of the standards. To one end of the spindle of roller 0' is secured a sprocket wheel cl which imparts motion to said roller through a chain 51' which is passed around a smaller sprocket wheel d mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings on standards d d and this smaller sprocket receives motion through another sprocket wheel cZ on the same shaft, which is connected by means of a chain (1 to a sprocket (Z on the adjacent operating shaft of the-machine, as shown. After leaving the rollers just described, the sheets pass downward against the face of a friction roller e,which is journaled in bearings formed in the frame of the first roll, and the sheets are furnished to the machine in a slack condition, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 1.

As before stated two feed mechanisms are employed for feeding the sheets, and are disposed at each end of the machine, one for the longitudinal set and one for the transverse set of sheets; and the construction and operation being the same for both mechanisms, one description will suffice.

The sheets are furnished to the machine in an overlapped condition at each end thereof, by means of intermittent feed mechanisms, the construction and operation of one of which I will now describe. f is a bed plate securedto the upper end of the machine, and ff represent a series of fingers which are secured to a cross bar f and normally held in yielding contact with the platefor with the interposed sheets by the action of springs f The sheets pass between the fingers and. plate and are fed forward intermittently for a distance equal to the depth of the cell case desired,by the forward movementof the fingers, through the levers g g which are secured at their upper ends to the cross bar f and pivotally connected to the frame at g. The lower ends of the levers are moved against the action of springs h h by cams it, said springs being connected at one end to the levers and at the other end to the frame and operating to move the levers when released by the cams, to their normal position. In the rearward movementthe fingers pass freely over the sheets, the springs f allowing sufficient play; but on the forward movement the sheets are engaged by the fingers and carried thereby the sufficient distance.

From the feed mechanism just described, the sheets pass bet-ween the punches and dies for forming the slots and incisions necessary to makethe interlocking joints with the sheets coming from the opposite side of the machine. The punches and dies are arranged in such a manner with relation to the overlapped sheets as that the incisions made thereby shall be of a uniform distance apart in each sheet, this being accomplished by overlapping the sheets a distance equal to the distance between two incisions. The construction and operation of both sets of punches and dies at each side of the machine are the same, with the exception that the slots and incisions made in the longitudinal strips may as shown difler from those made inthe transverse strips as will be presently explained. The diesjj consist of perforated plates secured to bed plates on the machine, and above the dies are the punches lsecured to the cross-head Z, which receives a vertically reciprocating movement th rough plu n gers l workin gin suitable guides, connecting rods Z and levers Z which latter have pivotal connection with the rods at Z. The levers Z are pivoted at one end to the frame at Z and are connected at their other end to yokesm which span the operating shaft 92, and motion is imparted to the yokes and levers by cams n on the shaft. The feeding and punching mechanisms at both ends of the machine are simultaneously operated through a sprocket chain 0 which is passed around two sprocket wheels 0 on the shafts it, one of which constitutes the driving shaft and is rotated through belt connection with any suitable power and with a pulley n as shown.

The sheets afterleaving the punching mechanism are fed forward by the action of the fingers f to the separating and assembling mechanism the construction and operation of which I will now describe. Referring to Figs. 5 to 8 both inclusive, 1) represents a guide block which is formed at its outer end with an opening 1) which extends to nearly the length of the block, and is wider at the center than at the ends in order to accommodate for the differing thickness of the body of overlapping sheets. This opening gradually increases in diameter toward the inner end of the block, and by means of partitions p which are slightly inclined as shown in full lines in Fig. 6, division slots or openings 19 are formed of sufficient size to receive asingle sheet. The tops of the blocks are cut away as at p to serve as a hand hole. The guide blocks are arranged at each side of the center of the machine with their division slots adjacent to each other, but separated a distance equal to the depth of the cell case desired. The sheets entering the openings in the respective guide blocks are separated by the division slots, and

fed forward simultaneously which causes the interengagement of the slots and incisions of the longitudinal and transverse strips, thereby forming a cell casein acollapsed or knockdown condition. The inner ends of the blocks are faced with steel, and projecting portions of the sheets which form the strips are severed by the shearing action of the edge of the division slots and knives q, arranged on each side of a vertically reciprocating head g, which moves in close relation to the slots, and is actuated through plungers g secured to said head, connecting rods (1 and cranks r on a shaft r journaled in bearings on the frame. This shaft is rotated through a sprocket wheel 7' tions are made, a distance equal to the depth of the cell case; and at the same instant with the stroke of the punches, the knives are operated to sever the strips which form the completed case.

. Referring to Figs. 9 and 10 in which are shown the longitudinal and transverse strips in detail, .9 indicates the longitudinal strip which is formed bythe action of the punching mechanism with a series of slots 8 and's the latter having an open flaring mouth .9 which freely receives the transverse strip for which it is intended. The transverse strip t is formed with the slots 25' and month t which are connected by a cut or incision t and a shoulder 15 is formed thereby which engages with the lower end of the slot 8 when the cell case is opened and forms a secure lock, and prevents the separation of the strips. The strips may however be easily pulled apart or separated when the case is in a collapsed or knockdown condition. The sheets are severed to form the cases at the end of the row of the next perforations, thus leaving them open for the next assembling operation.

The operation is as follows: The ends of the overlapped sheets from the several rolls at each side of the machine are brought together and passed between the feed rollers and the spring fingers and bed plate to which latter they are fedin a slack condition. The sheets are then fed forward intermittently by the action of the fingers, and come between the dies and punches from which they receive the slots and incisions. From the punching mechanism they are fed into the openings in the respective guides and division slots, which direct each sheet so that the perforations therein shall meet the perforations in the opposite sheets, and at the correct angle. The forward movement of thetwo sets of sheets causes the interengagement thereof, between the inner ends of the guide blocks, and the descending knives operate in conjunction with the steel faced blocks to sever from the sheets the completed case in a collapsed or knockdown condition. The cell cases when made are removed from the machine in any suitable manner, as for instance an endless apron, and being in a knockdown condition are ready for transportation. In Fig. 11 is shown a perspective view of the cell case complete, the strips being in the position they assume during the assembling and severing operations.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the ends of the sheets are held at such an angle that when they come together, they form a cell case but slightly open sufficiently.

to permit a ready interengagement, and thus permit the use of locking slots which. could not be put together when the strips are arranged at right angles to each other, but which will engage easily when relatively inclined, and when the completed cell case is opened .for use the interlocking of the perforations consequently'prevents the pulling apart of the strips.

WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A step in the art of making cell cases, which step consists in presenting two series of continuous strips, forming said strips with interlocking perforations, and assembling the strips in relatively inclined positions to form a cell casein a collapsed or partially'collapsed condition.

2. A step in the art of making cell cases which step consists'in presenting two series of continuous sheets,perforating said sheets, assembling the ends of the two series ofsheets,

and severing the assembled ends transversely,

to the length'of the sheets to form a cell case in a collapsed or partially collapsed condition.

3: The method herein set forth of making. cell cases which consists in presentingtwo series of overlapping continuous sheets, perforating said sheets, assembling the ends of the two series, and severing the assembled ends transversely to the length of the sheets to form cell cases in a collapsed or partially collapsed condition.

4. In a machine for making cell cases, the combination of mechanism for feeding the sheets in an overlapped condition from both ends of the machine, perforating mechanism.

for imparting the slots and incisions, mechanism for separating and assembling the sheets, and mechanism for severing the assembled portions thereof, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a machine for making cell cases, the combination of mechanism for feeding the sheets in an overlapped condition from both ends of the machine, mechanism for perforating simultaneously the ends of the sheets, mechanism for separating and assembling the said ends, and mechanism for severing the assembled ends transversely to the length of the sheets substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a machine for making cell cases, the combination with mechanism for feeding a series of overlapped sheets from both ends of the machine, of guide blocks adjacent to each other and formedwith division slots to receive each sheet singly, substantially as and for ceive the sheets singly, and knives operating in conjunction with the inner endsof: the

blocks to sever the ends of the sheets when assembled, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. In a machine for making cell cases, the combination with mechanism for intermittently feeding a series of overlapped sheets from both ends of the machine, of mechanism for perforating the sheets transversely to their length, guide blocks having theirinner ends adjacent to each other, and formed with division slots arranged at an angle to receive the sheets separately, vertically reciprocating knives between the ends of the blocks and operating in conjunction therewith to sever the assembled ends of the sheets to form a cell case in a partially collapsed condition, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. In a machine for making cell cases the combination of a series of overlapping sheet containing rolls at both ends of the machine, rollers adapted to receive and feed the sheets from the rolls, intermittent feed mechanism on each end of the machine, mechanism for perforating the sheets transversely, consisting of die plates and vertically reciprocating punches, guide blocks having theirinner ends adjacent to each other, and having division slots arranged at an angle, to receive the sheets separately, a vertically reciprocating head between the ends of the blocks and hav ing knives thereon operating in conjunction with the said ends to sever a completed cell case from the sheets, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. In a machine for making cell cases, the combination of a series of overlapping sheet containing rolls at both ends of the machine, rollers adapted to receive and feed the sheets from the rolls, spring fingers operated by 1evers, springs and cams to feed the sheets forward intermittently, mechanism for perforating the sheets transversely consisting of die plates, and vertically reciprocating punches operated by levers and cam actuated yokes, guide blocks having their inner ends adjacent to each other, and having division slots arranged atan angle,to receive thesheets separately, a vertically reciprocating head operated by cranks and connecting bars, and having knives thereon operating in conjunction with the ends of the blocks to sever a completed cell case, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

V HOWARD F. SMITH.

Witnesses:

S. 1. SMITH, J. 0. LANE. 

